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Julie Brill defends FTC’s patent policing

FTC Commissioner Julie Brill and a top Qualcomm attorney clashed Thursday over whether companies who agree to license standards-essential patents to enable others to build off their technology ought to be able to seek injunctions if they have a conflict.

Qualcomm Vice President Fabian Gonell questioned the FTC's place to interfere with such litigation at a POLITICO Pro 2012 Technology luncheon. Brill forcefully responded, saying that the FTC has a place "if it has an impact on competition."

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"When this issue comes up in a competition sense, we will take action because we think there’s been some anti-competitive act," Brill said. "It’s one thing to go to court and seek an adjudication based on FRAND-encumbered SEPs. It’s another thing to lock down the technology that was supposed to be licensed based on FRAND rates."

That framework, set forth in the eBay case and enforced in last month's Bosch ghmB case, was objectionable to Gonell.

"It is troubling that merely seeking an injunction is something that runs afoul of Section 5 when seeking legal redress is protected by the First Amendment," Gonell said.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 1:29 p.m. on December 13, 2012.